5:The Problem
Concerning Midoriya
"These scars are quite bad, young man." Recovery Girl noted with some distress in her voice.
While the teachers were talking over the young verdette's supposed Quirk, the boy in question was being looked over by the school nurse after his mother had asked her to do so. However, the boy had been very reluctant to remove his shirt because of the scars that dotted his body. Battle scars due to his long years of physical abuse at the hands of bullies.
The fact that her son had been overworking himself was bad enough, but being reminded of her son's treatment almost made the woman cry. "Are you sure that nothing else seems out of the ordinary with him?" She asked the elderly school nurse, "The signs of overwork are really clear now that Mr. Yagi brought them up, and - "
Recovery Girl came over and patted the woman's hand, "There there, Dearie, apart from these scars, the boy's perfectly fine," she said with a kind tone in her voice before promptly swinging her cane at the boy, who ducked with a startled yelp, "And you, young man, should ashamed of yourself for worrying your mother so much! Honestly, the routine that that blond oaf has you going through is one that is meant for those with Strength Augmentation Quirks! What was he thinking!"
Izuku grinned a little sheepishly, "W-well, I'm sure he had my best interest at heart!" He stammered, attempting to defend the withered Hero.
Recovery Girl huffed, "He may mean well, boy, but he has no clue of what to do with a child like you." She ranted while she waved her cane menacingly, "Yes, he has a license as a fitness trainer, and he's formerly a Hero, but to think he would have you doing such strenuous work is folly, and the fact that you think that you aren't doing enough is even worse!" He ducked under another swing, "Honestly my dear boy, you're already more than fit enough, by Hero standards and by Quirkless standards."
Inko looked at the older woman, "Really?"
"Yes," she nodded, "I thought you would know considering you work as a nurse?"
Inko flushed with embarrassment, "Oh, well, I only deal with children...younger children," She said in a slightly longing tone. In truth, she had always been a little sad that she and Hisashi, her husband, had never had any other children. At least Izuku wouldn't have grown up virtually alone. Of course, that hadn't happened. But she had found out that she was physically incapable of successfully having another child. After finding out about it, her husband had soon started working longer hours at work, and taking more time away from home.
[I suppose I should go ahead and push for that divorce,] she thought to herself while Recovery Girl continued her examination of her son.
"It's true, he's a tad wiry for a boy his age, but he's quite well off with his muscle structure, so I suppose that oaf had it right in a few places," she said as she checked his reflexes, "But I'm surprised that I can't find anything out of the ordinary with you considering I watched you change into three different mutations." She then frowned at the green gauntlet on his right arm, "And this device on your arm," she remarked, making the boy jump a little, "It seems to be completely fused with your skin on a molecular level. Almost as if it's a natural part of your body."
"It's how he accesses his Quirk," his mother supplied before the boy could panic, "I'm not sure why it was so late in coming, but it suddenly grew on his body before we knew what was happening."
Recovery Girl hummed in thought, "Did it now?" She said, giving the woman a very calculating look that had Inko sweating a little. "Well, it's not the first time that a child's been misdiagnosed as Quirkless. That outdated toe joint test is ridiculous to begin with." She grumbled huffily, "But I imagine that your sudden change in appearance was quite a shock." She said to the boy as he smiled and gave her a shaky nod.
"Either way, dear, you're in perfect health save for the obvious fatigue from doing the extra work." She looked back to Inko, "I'm sure that that blond oaf has already thought of this, but once you're done here, let him rest for a few days, and make sure his meals well are balanced. Oh, I'm sure some light exercises will be fine," she added when Izuku looked ready to protest, "But no, and I mean absolutely no heavy lifting." She warned him.
Izuku chuckled with small nod, "Yes, ma'am." She then gave the boy a handful of gummies infused with her Quirk energy before giving him the go ahead to get dressed and meet back up with -
"Young Midoriya?" Speak of the devil. Toshinori poked his head into the room just as Izuku was buttoning his shirt, "Ah, all done I see," he smiled before looking at Recovery Girl, "I hope he wasn't too fatigued?"
Recovery Girl shook her head, "No, but it could have been bad if you hadn't caught it when you did," she said, then promptly walloped him in the side of his leg with her cane, "That's for pushing the boy so hard, you brainless oaf!"
"Yaa-ow!" Toshinori was hopping up and down on his other leg while clutching the other as Inko fretted over him while Izuku could only sympathize.
"Oh, dear, Toshi - !" Inko yelped as she tried to help the man.
Toshinori just grinned and waved off her concerns, "N-not to worry, Inko, I'm quite used to being smacked around," he chuckled whilst giving the nurse a half-hearted glare, "Especially by cranky old - " He ducked his head into his suit like a turtle when Recovery Girl took a swipe at his head, " - biddies!" He shouted as his head came back up and darted for the door.
"I'll show you an who's old biddy!" Recovery Girl shouted after the him as the man made his escape before she could use the sharp end of her syringe cane.
"Young Midoriya, I'll be waiting for you in the conference room!" Toshinori shouted out as he fled.
Izuku just laughed at the man's antics while Recovery Girl fumed, "Honestly! That man needs to act his age!" She said before she rounded on the laughing boy, "And don't you go taking after his behavior, young man!"
Izuku held up his hands, "No ma'am, I won't," he laughed while his mother just frowned at him, "Hey, seriously, I won't!"
"Well, dear, you do tend to stick up for him a lot," Inko reminded him.
Her son just shrugged, "I won't lie and say that I don't likehaving him around," he looked at his mother with a small smile, "Besides, you like him, too."
"Izuku!" Inko blushed beet red.
The old nurse chuckled, "Oh, Toshinori is a good man, dear, I'll readily admit that." She said much to the woman's utter embarrassment, "But she'd have her hands full with his immature side."
Izuku finished dressing and headed for the door, "If she can put up with me, and Auntie Mitsuki, she can put up with anyone." He said before kissing his mother on the head and ducking out of the room. "See you in a bit, Mom!"
Inko palmed her forehead and sank down to one of the beds in the room, "Ugh, ever since that man made a remark about us grabbing a bite together, that boy - "
"He wants you to be happy, Deary," Recovery Girl said with a smile on her face, "Don't get me wrong, I can understand your hesitation. You've only known the man for a few months after all."
Inko shook her head, "Oh, it isn't that," she sighed, "I'm...I'm a married woman...but I'm sure that I'm deluding myself into thinking that my husband will just walk through our door and everything will be just like it used to be." She sighed.
Recovery Girl gave the woman a sympathetic look, "How long now?" She asked in reference to their separation.
Inko sighed, "Almost eleven years, now." She said, "His company needed him to move overseas, and...well without even asking if we'd be alright with it, he packed up and left."
Recovery Girl huffed, "Well, now, that sounds like an easy out if ever I heard one." She said as the woman could only nod in agreement, "Did he even consider bringing you and your son along?"
"He didn't even mention it." She shook her head, "And I was...I was fine with it..." She smiled a little, "I had my beautiful little boy, and that's all I really needed."
Recovery Girl frowned, "You do know that he's not - "
"Not a baby, I know," Inko sighed, "And that's why it's been harder. He's wanted to be a Hero for so long, and now that he might get his chance - "
She felt a hand on her knee, and saw Recovery Girl looking at her with a bit of concern, "Inko, my dear, I think you should see a therapist."
Inko blinked, "...why?"
"Because you have autophobia," the nurse looked at the older woman in shock, "It's clear as day to me, Inko. Just like I can see some form of PTSD in your son."
Inko worried her lip: she knew all about her son's issues because of his former friend. But she was hoping that that would change now...and soon. "Do you really think that I - "
"Yes." Recovery Girl said before the woman could finish, "It's not a severe case, but you most certainly have fear of being abandoned thanks to that husband of yours." She said as she patted the woman's knee, "I won't force you into anything, but Mr. Inui, our Hound Dog, is very good at his job, and he does take on cases from students' parents."
Inko teared up a little, "You're saying that like Izuku's already going to be enrolled."
"Oh, I know for a fact that if Nezu has his way, that boy is going to be one of the next Big 3 of this school." Recovery Girl chuckled.
"Yaaaaaaa-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooey!"
Both women jumped when a body came tumbling from the ceiling as a young blond boy bounced off one of the beds and crashed onto the floor with a yelp and a groan. The older woman chuckled, "Speak of the devil, and the devil is what you'll get," she smiled as she moved to check on the boy, "Fall asleep in class again, Mirio, Dear?"
The now name Mirio just looked up with a huge grin on his face, "Hahaha, what can I say? Classical Literature is soboring!"
Inko, however, had a neon red blush on her face. "Dear lord he's naked!"
僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア
Izuku's presence in the conference room was needed for the very simple fact that Toshinori had shared the origin of his Quirk. And so, as he had done with his mother, he played back the messages left by his "mentor", including both tutorials.
Nezu found the entire presentation fascinating, "To think that the Multiverse Theory was correct all along!" The little mammal laughed happily, "All of those different Earths out there, and they're only a small distance away through the proper technological advancements!"
Power Loader was drooling over the schematics that Izuku had pulled up for the support gear that the Ultimatrix had come with, "Any of this would be ten, no twenty times more advanced than anything currently on the market!" He said as he hurriedly drew out physical copies to use for later, for Izuku's benefits, of course.
"Are we really saying we believe this?" Aizawa, always the skeptic, demanded.
Nemuri looked at him, "Well, how else would you explainthis?" She asked as she gestured to the boy, "Those forms he took on during the tests were like nothing I've ever seen, and no technology exists that physically alters the DNA so completely, in less than a second, without consequences to the one being altered as this thing has done for Mr. Midoriya."
Seikijiro Kan nodded in agreement, "As much as I disbelieve this multiverse nonsense, she does have a point," he looked over at Izuku, "If this young man is continually altering his DNA in quick succession as he has been, there should have been signs of damage to his genetic structure. We'd even be able to see it on the surface. But there's nothing wrong with him."
Izuku chuckled bashfully, "A lot of people would argue against that, Mr. Vlad, Sir."
Nezu gave the boy a kind smile, "No one is saying anything of the sort, young man," he said, "Though you have to admit, even with the proof we've seen, this is quite something!" He said giddily, "But I for one cannot wait for you to join this school's ranks this coming February. I have no doubt that you will pass every test we throw at you, and even if Aizawa doesn't want you in his class, I can easily place you in another Hero Course class! This is simply too amazing to pass up!"
Aizawa frowned at the mammal, then turned his gaze on the boy, who yelped under his glare, "Tell me something," he said, "What do you intend to do if a situation arises where you can't use that fancy gadget of yours to fight?"
Izuku thought for a moment, "Well, Sir, if I'm able to, I'd like to have some combat oriented Support Gear made for me, like the Proto-Tool that Mr. Power Loader is drawing out. It's an all around-type of non-lethal weapon that functions as a stun rifle, net gun, bow, harpoon gun and even a shield." He said, "As for combat, if I can't get the Proto-Tool made, then I'd work on a form of martial arts centered around quickly taking down an opponent with little harm to either party."
"He has you there, Eraser Head," Present Mic said with huge grin, "Come on, give the little listener a break, will ya?"
Aizawa turned to the man with a red glow in his eyes, "I don't give breaks."
Izuku hesitated for a moment before speaking up, "U-Um, S-Sir?" Aizawa turned on him, "Eep! Oh, um, I was just, uh, wondering...why you seem to ha-hate me?" The room grew very still, all eyes turning on the scruffy-looking man as if he'd just nonchalantly kicked a puppy. "I-Is it b-because I'm,...well, basically Q-Quir-Quirkless?"
"No one here has ever discriminated against someone that doesn't have a Quirk," Nezu stood up quite angrily as his fur seemed to stand on end, "And if any ever did, then they would quickly find themselves unemployed!"
Aizawa frowned before taking a deep breath and explaining, "I don't hate you, kid, nothing like that," he said, the boy looking at him expectantly, "Your...power, whateveryou want to call it...has an impractical limit on it, and I highly doubt that you can achieve anything further than you already have by the start of the examinations. It would be irrational to accept you."
"But my time limit's getting smaller each time I use the Ultimatrix," Izuku said in an attempt to reason with him, "And so is the recharge time. I only need five minutes to cha- "
"And a multitude of mayhem can and will happen in those five minutes," Aizawa interrupted, causing the boy to cower, "But...that doesn't mean I don't see the potential behind what you're wielding. It could be very useful in a fight. But you have to look at it the same way you would a Quirk. The pros and the cons. The pros, as we've all seen, is that you can change into powerful mutants - "
"A-aliens, Sir." Izuku corrected.
" - and those aliens can easily take down seasoned Pro Heroes," he said, "And you seem to have very a keen intellect, I could see that while I was reading your notes on Quirks and their applications. The cons?" He raised his brow, "You lack a spine, kid."
"Oh, ouch," Present Mic hissed in mock pain, "Kick a guy in the nuts much?"
Aizawa shrugged, "It may be a low blow, but it's no less true when you look at him," he gestured to the boy's posture. "If I had to guess, I'd say that he got bullied, a lot, because he was, or rather is, Quirkless."
Toshinori nodded, "I can confirm that," he sighed, looking at the principal, "Nezu, I'd like to talk to you about that, later, ifyou have the time?"
"Of course," Nezu nodded.
"Back to the topic," Aizawa said, looking at Izuku, "A Hero needs a lot more than a fancy Quirk. They need the right mental state. It's a hard combination to create." He said, "A good mental fortitude, that way you can make hard, split second decisions," he said, "You've got the right mind, but your mental state is a mess." Izuku nodded, conceding the point, "You also need to be able to fight, just as you mentioned earlier, which you, outside of your alien forms, can't."
"He can learn," Cementos put in, "You weren't all that great in a fight when you were a student."
"But I knew how to handle myself," Aizawa reasoned, "And, cruel as it is to say, this kid can't, yet, and he's gonna need a lot more than three months to gain the experience he needs." He said, "And finally, you do need something up your sleeve that guarantees a win. Whether it's a piece of tech, an Ultimate Move, or even guile. You have that in the Ultimatrix, and your tech, if you can have it made. But mentally, you don't have any guile."
Izuku felt his world starting to implode.
"Now hold on just a minute," Nezu said, "I think I have a way to fix all of that you just listed off."
"Really?!" Izuku perked up.
Nezu nodded, "Indeed, while a bit unorthodox, it isn't unheard of for a young man such as yourself to be placed with a Pro Hero to gain some experience with their Quirk if it manifested exceedingly late. Which is what we're going to put on your Quirk Registration papers."
Izuku's face lit up as Aizawa's face twitched, "Are you seriously suggesting - ?"
"An internship." Nezu smiled, "And I believe I know just the person to recommend him to." The mammal turned to Toshinori, "Are you, perhaps , still on bad terms with - "
"Oh, no," Toshinori crossed his arms, "No, no, no, no! Absolutely not!" The blond shouted, "I do not wanna talk to that guy!"
Present Mic just grinned, "Personal feelings gettin' in the way there, Emo Might?"
Toshinori just gave the man a look, "Give it a rest, Mic!"
Izuku looked at the three of them, "Uh, Mr. Nezu?"
"Yes, young man?"
"Who exactly are you talking about?" The boy asked.
Nezu simply smiled widely, "Why All Might's former partner, Sir Nighteye, of course!" The mammal said, "As I'm sure you know: he's a former Sidekick of All Might, and went on to found a very successful career as a Hero and a detective."
"He also likes to unnecessarily browbeat people he doesn't like." Toshinori grumbled, "I have my reasons, Nezu, but the man isn't suited for Young Midoriya's needs!"
Aizawa frowned, "I happen to think that Nighteye would have a positive effect on him," the shabby teacher said, "But I don't support the idea of sending this untrained kid into a Hero Agency just so you can make him ready for our classes." He looked at the principle, "That's blatant favoritism."
And that was something Izuku wanted nothing of. "Is it really necessary for me to do this?"
Nezu shook his head, "You misunderstand," he said, "While Sir Nighteye would be a very fine Hero for you to learn from, the person I want you to forman attachment to is his apprentice." The teachers all turned to look at him, "At the beginning of the second year internships, Nighteye approached one of our students, a very nice young man that shares many traits with you, All Might."
That right there raised a red flag with the blond man, [Shares traits with me? He must have been training a new wielder for One for All.] The man thought bitterly.
Nemuri giggled, "Are you talking about Togata?"
"I am," Nezu nodded, "He may not have the best grades out of any of our students, but he is no less outstanding enough in our school to be one of the Big 3, as they've been called."
"At our school, those with the best skills are considered amongst the top of the Hero Courses," Kan explained to Izuku, "Each year has them, but this young man along with two of his classmates have retained that title throughout their time here."
Nezu nodded, "And this internship with Nighteye has only made Togata that much better of a person," he said with a small look at the boy, "I'm hoping that you'll take some of the energy that comes off of him and build up your own confidence in that regard."
Toshinori grumbled, "If Nighteye doesn't think he's trying to leech off of him."
僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア
Professor Paradox, in his home between dimensions, was doing as he always did whenever he had more time on his hands than he knew what to do with; watching the timelines as they wove together.
On one side, he watched the dimension of his dear friend, Benjamin Tennyson. The man had been fighting evil since he was ten years old, and now, well over sixty years after receiving his first Omnitrix, he was finally ready to rest. Vilgax's cancer had ravaged his body for the last ten years of his life, even though he kept himself healthy and fit, there was no defeating the disease.
True, the cure for the cancer would have been found a further ten years into his friend's future, however, as much as the Professor wanted to, the laws of time would not allow him to simply acquire the cure for his friend. There were things that even the Celestialsapiens would not allow. Taking the Ultimatrix into another dimension was just barely on the border of what they would allow.
Still, Benjamin had led a full, wonderful life with those that he loved by his side. His wife, son, godson, cousin, best friend and brother in bond. Outside of the hospital he was breathing his last were the people, both terrestrial and extraterrestrial, waiting for the inevitable. Ben 10 would pass from his world surrounded by love.
Both his son, Kenny, and his godson, Delvin, would continue his work through their own Omnitrixes. His legacy was sealed in stone.
Meanwhile, as he looked into the future of Earth Omega, he saw a diverging set of lines. When looking through time, Professor Paradox found that the color of the lines changed from black to gold when one line lead to something bleak, or to something bright and hopeful. A black line meant a bleak future while a golden line meant that the future would be peaceful. However, the two lines for Earth Omega's future seemed oddly colorful. True, one of the lines was pure black, meaning that one line was leading to a truly dark future.
But the other line, was bronze in color.
It was a color he had seen rarely, but he had seen it before.
It was a line that proved to be both dark, and bright. Earth Omega was in for a rough future. One way or the other. He decided that he would look into the darkest future first.
He stepped through time.
"Hmm," the man sighed as he stepped out into a ruined street. "A bleak future indeed." He said as he stepped over to a ruined statue that was once an image of the world's Hero, All Might.
All around him were buildings in ruin. Toppled by blows of great force. All around he could hear the distance shouts and screams of those in need, yet he could not hear anyone coming to their aid. This, he knew, was the future in which Izuku would receive All Might's Quirk. A future that was shrouded in darkness.
It seemed to him that the right decision was to give the boy the Ultimatrix after all. Yes, he was certain of that. Because he knew that when the boy unlocked the full potential of the device, many lives would be changed for the greater good. Many of those that were beyond redemption would be saved.
He smiled, and opened a portal to the brighter future, intent on seeing where it led.
6: Friends (1)
Subsequently, Izuku was sent home along with his mother after the meeting with the faculty of U.A. Academy. Toshinori did not join them as they had hoped, the blond man still arguing over the internship that Nezu wanted to put him into. However, his mother was not so thrilled with the idea either. It was later that the boy found out that his mother had decided to start taking therapy sessions at U.A. for reasons that she wouldn't tell him, simply asking for his trust.
As Recovery Girl had instructed, he rested for the remainder of the day, however, when morning came, he was at it again. He left a note for his mother telling her that he was going down to the beach to do a little more cleaning. He had no intention of doing any heavy lifting, though. In his arsenal of oddly powerful aliens was one that he had been wanting desperately to try since he found out what the creature did.
He wasn't sure that the Support Course could create the Proto-Tool that he needed, but he was certain that this new form could. However, when he got down to the beach, he found that he wasn't alone.
If it were anyone else, he would have been fine. If it had been an adult woman he would have been fine. However, the person that was at Dagobah Beach, rummaging around through the many piles of garbage, was a girl. A very filthy, very cute girl right around his age.
He was hesitant to do anything except watch what she was doing. She was up to her elbows in trash, looking through the various appliances and even old vehicle parts that had been left at the beach. Behind her were several milk crates worth of parts she seemed to have scavenged. And just to be clear, she was extremely cute. Thick, pink hair, golden eyes that looked like they had some kind of crosshairs as pupils. Normally, he wouldn't be the type to ogle a girl's body, but this particular girl made that impossible by the way she was dressed.
From the waist up where she was wearing a set of coveralls with the upper portion open and tied around her waist, she wore nothing, absolutely nothing but a sports bra. And it left very little to his imagination.
On top of her head was a set of goggles while her hands were covered by a thick pair of welding gloves.
Due to his experience with girls, and much of it being rather unpleasant, he probably would have just stood there and waited for her to leave on her own, but Murphy's Law decided that that wasn't good enough when the boy saw the pile she was rummaging through begin to lean. "Watch out!" Without even thinking about it, he dialed in on Fasttrack and transformed. The feline alien blurred across the sand and snatched the girl up right as the pile of garbage fell and crashed to the ground where she had been a moment before.
Fasttrack looked down at the girl in his arms, who was blinking owlishly up at him, right before a huge grin spread across her face, "Hey, thanks!" She grinned, "That would've been super painful if you hadn't grabbed me!" She said before she gained a slight blush, "But, ya mind?" She pointed toward her chest, "Kind'a tickling me here, Mr. Furry."
Fasttrack looked down and, shockingly, turned completely white when he saw that his left hand was squished into her breast. "Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry!" The feline yelped as he took his hand away. The girl was quick to grab at his shoulders to keep from falling. "Oh, uh, oops!"
"No biggie!" The girl giggled as she swung down from his arms and patted the feline's shoulder, "Not like you're some kind'a pervert, right?"
Fasttrack shook his head, "Of course I'm not!" He said vehemently, "I just didn't want you getting crushed under all that metal." He frowned before tapping the symbol on his chest, and changed back, "Uh," said the less confident boy, "W-what were you d-doing anyway?"
The girl just smiled wider, "I was getting more parts to make more of my precious babies, of course!"
"B-b-b-b-babies!?" Izuku blushed several shades of red, then paled remarkably fast, "Wait, you don't mean realbabies, right!? 'Cause I know you can't make kids outta scrap metal!"
She giggled, "Nah, I don't mean baby-babies, I mean mybabies!" She said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out some kind of gadget, "I'm aiming to be the best Support Gear inventor in the country! So I've always gotta be on the lookout for new materials to use to make them!"
Izuku then smiled, "Wow, that's so cool! Are you aiming for U.A.'s Support Course?"
The girl beamed at him, "Better believe I am!" She placed her hands on her hips, and thrust her chest out, which of course made the boy blush, "You're looking at the next big name in Support Gear, the name's Mei Hatsume!"
"Oh," a bead of sweat ran down the boy's head at the girl's enthusiasm, "Uh, I'm Izuku...Izuku Midoriya." The boy introduced himself, "Um, I hate to ask, but do you mind if I use some of this junk for my own gear?"
Mei gave him a flat look, "First you grope me, now you wanna steal my treasure trove?"
"Th-that was an accident!" The boy tried to defend himself, "And besides, I've been cleaning up this place for months, and never - "
"So it was you taking all the junk from this place!" Mei shouted and poked him in the chest, "I had my eye on a really good refrigerator with a motor in prime condition, but when I got the time to come and get it, I find it gone, and now I know why!" The fact that she was getting in his face was bad enough, but the girl was getting really close to him, so much so that her breasts were now brushing up against his own chest.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Izuku was steaming out of ears, his face flaming red, "Before we get into that, could you pleaseback up a bit?!"
Mei blinked, "Huh?" She looked down and noticed their predicament, "Oh, sorry 'bout that." She backed away, "My dad always tells me I need to learn some bondarries, but I've never known where to put them." Much to Izuku's embarrassment, she actually palmed both of her lethal, to him anyway, weapons. "You're the first boy that's ever seemed to care, 'cause the others sure didn't mind."
[I bet they didn't!] Izuku blushed, "Ah - ahem, I'm sorry, by the way," he said, bringing her attention back to him, "I didn't mean to steal from you. I didn't even know that anyone else came here."
Mei shrugged, "Eh, I don't care that much, but I did really want that motor," she tucked her arms behind her head, "Anyway, you said you came here to use some of this stuff yourself, right?" Izuku nodded, "Well, I don't own any of this junk, and I sure don't own any part of this beach, so I can't say much else besides better luck next time."
Izuku sighed in relief, "Well, maybe you can help me after I'm done?" Mei looked at him in interest, "I'm kind'a going off of a plan my mentor gave me...one of several, I guess," he showed her his Ultimatrix, which made her eyes shine like diamonds. What he did next nearly had her drooling as he pulled up the 3D schematic for the Proto-Tool. "This is what I wanted to build."
"Oh, wow!" Mei cried as she bounced forward to get a better look, "This is beautiful! Your mentor must be a genius! This is way beyond anything I've ever seen outside of the I-Island Expo!"
Izuku nodded as the girl marveled, "Yeah, and once I was finished, I was gonna have to test all the features it has," he said bashfully scratching the back of his head, "Though, I'm not much of a techie."
Mei beamed at him, "Hey, no biggie! I'd love to get my hands on this big beautiful piece of hardware!"
Izuku smiled before nodding, "Okay, then I'd better get to work," he smiled as he selected the right form on the Ultimatrix, he was about to slam down, but then he looked at the girl, "Uh, Mei, you might wanna cover your eyes?" He suggested.
Instead, she pulled her goggles down before nodding. He slammed down the dial, and transformed. In the scrawny boy's place was a creature with a black exterior with green stripes that resembled circuitry all over him. Instead of a face, there was a green circle on his head which she took to be his eye, "Upgrade!" His eye flashed when he spoke.
"That is one impressive Quirk!" The girl said in amazement as she raised her goggles back to her forehead, "Weren't you a kind'a blue kitty speedster a minute ago?"
Upgrade nodded, "Yeah, but my...Quirk, lets me change into different transformations of myself. The gauntlet you saw me using lets me select what to change into, and also initiates the change." The mechamorph said, though he felt bad about lying, he felt that she would probably have a melt down if he told her that it was alien technology.
#7 - Upgrade: This ooey gooey blob is a actually a hive of small cell-like nanites. He can merge with any technology he comes into contact with, and enhance it into Ultra-Tech that is beyond human understanding. It doesn't matter how big it is, if it's tech, then this Galvanic Mechamorph can control it with one touch. And he's programed with technology from hundreds of planets, and can replicate it all at will, all he needs is fuel for the fire, so he has to consume mountains of metal. He can also fire an energy beam from his eye, but be careful, because if even a bit of acid touches this big blob, he goes completely haywire!
"Now, let's see how much I can do with all this junk," Upgrade said while Mei stood back and watched as the mass of nanomachines seemed to melt into a puddle before slithering over to the pile next to the one she had been picking through.
"You know, this kind'a reminds me of a really old movie I watched," she mumbled as the blob of nanites rose up and engulfed the pile of garbage. Instead of growing in size like she had thought he would, Upgrade seemed to be getting smaller as he reduced the garbage into materials to be used for later inside his body, however, he did spit out not one, not two, but three of the rifle-like tools. "Oh, my!" She giddily moved to pick one up as Upgrade went back to his normal size.
"You can have one of them," Upgrade said as he came over to her as the girl beamed at him, "Call it an apology for unintentionally stealing that motor you wanted."
Mei gave a squeal of happiness before she hugged the big blob, which caused the green lines on the alien to turn red. "This is great! I can't wait to test this baby out!" She said before taking aim at a trash pile, "Say, what did you use for an energy source?" She asked out of curiosity.
"I had a formula from my blueprints that allowed me to construct an energy crystal," Upgrade said before tapping the symbol on his chest, changing back to Izuku, "It shouldn't ever need a recharge."
Mei giggled and took a test shot. Her aim was just a little off and she ended up firing too high of her intended target, which happened to be a microwave oven, and hit a cinder block sitting above it. The block fell from its perch, and smashed down near the bottom.
BEEEP
Both teens jumped at the sound before Izuku stepped forward, "I-Is that a car?!"
"One way to find out!" Mei surged forward and started tossing garbage out behind her.
Izuku laughed as he shielded himself and he tried to get in closer to help her dig, "Careful! You're gonna get buried!" He reached for the Ultimatrix, "Let me get it." He selected Upgrade one more time, and changed.
Mei stepped back as the large mechamorph turned to goop and spread himself over the garbage pile again. "You're not gonna eat it, right?" She asked with a hint of worry in her voice.
"Of course not," the mechamorph said as the pile began to shrink, "I'm just gonna make a few adjustments."
Mei waited for a moment, giddy with excitement when the mechamorph left the buried car. "Oooooh, it's gorgeous!" Mei squealed, "This is so great!" She ran to the driver's side and jumped in.
Izuku turned back to normal, "Wait a minute! Do you even have a license?!" He asked as he went and scooped up the other Proto-Tools.
"This is technically a support item, so it's not an issue!" She said as she found the ignition: Izuku had made it a push-start. With a press of the button the engine roared to life, "Oh, man, listen to that motor!" She practically moaned out.
"Hey!" Izuku yelped before he dove into the car just as the girl threw it into gear and stepped on the gas. "Do you even know how to drive!?"
Mei just cackled as she gunned the engine up the steps. Izuku held on for dear life as he was bounced up and down before they leveled out. "I've been working on cars since I was a kid!" She boasted, "I know the ins and outs of mechanics better than even my dad!"
"Yeah, but do you know how to drive?" Izuku repeated his question while fumbling with his seatbelt.
Mei shrugged, "Sure, my dad let me drive around the block all the time," she said before stepping on the gas again, "Besides, I grew up watching old shows like Dukes of Hazzard, and Fast and Furious!"
"Those are not good references for safe driving!" Izuku yelped as the tires squealed against the pavement.
僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア
Inko had left earlier than Izuku had that morning, missing the boy completely, so she didn't know that her son was currently potentially breaking the law...yet. However, she was attending an early meeting at U.A. with Hound Dog.
"I'm sorry for coming in so unexpectedly," she apologized to the furry Hero/therapist.
Despite his looks, the man was very polite, "There's no need to apologize, Mrs. Midoriya. I'm quite happy to have you here with me today," he said as she took a seat across from him on a plush chair, "Now, Recovery Girl gave me a few details about your condition, but I'd like to hear what you think about it?"
Inko sighed, her hands in her lap clenched tightly, "To be honest, I never really thought of myself as someone with a mental problem."
The therapist gave a small shrug, "Most never do unless someone else points it out, Miss." Hound Dog replied, "But are you willingly admitting that you have one?"
She nodded slowly, "I thought it over last night while in bed." She frowned, "Whenever I'm not working, I'm keeping myself very busy. The only time I actually relax is when my son is around."
"Mmhmm, it's common in most cases to feel comfortable around family," he said in agreement, "But you sound as though you're overworking yourself?"
Inko gave a small chuckle, "Truth be known, I never really take long breaks." She said, "If I sit down for too long in the break room and no on is there, I sometimes get chills, or in start trembling."
Hound Dog wrote something down on his notepad, "And I would reason that you've experienced nausea, too?" She nodded, "Classic signs of autophobia." He sighed, "Now, and feel free to not answer if you don't feel comfortable enough, but Recovery Girl said something about you having an estranged husband?"
"Hisashi," she nodded, "we grew up together, though he was from the local orphanage, and I was from a small family." She smiled fondly, "He was a year my junior, and he used to stick to me like glue." The scratching of Hound Dog's pen drew her attention.
"Please, continue," he encouraged.
"Well, he, like our son, had high hopes of being a Hero," she said, "But both of us had fairly weak Quirks, so he settled for a General Studies course in high school. Neither of us went to college with it being so expensive, but he did propose to me straight out of school."
"Did you have any other friends from your childhood other than your husband?" Hound Dog asked.
Inko brightened, "Yes, I had Mitsuki," she smiled widely, a positive sign from Hound Dog's perspective, "She was...well, she still is quite a character." She giggled, "She had the biggest personality out of anyone I'd ever met, even among Pro Heroes." She sighed, "She...she didn't...doesn't...care about my husband."
"No?" He asked in interest.
She shook her head, "She never liked him," she admitted, "Whenever they were around one another, they were always butting heads over one thing or another." She chuckled, "She even said once that she'd marry me herselfjust so I wouldn't have to marry him."
Hound Dog smiled under his muzzle, "She sounds like a good woman."
"She is," Inko said happily, "Her husband's a bit of a surprise, though, because he's her polar opposite"
Hound Dog nodded with a small snort of amusement, "But you and your husband obviously married." He pointed out, "How did he treat you?"
"Oh, he was never abusive toward me," Inko said, "We went out sometimes. Kept in touch with Mitsuki, and some other friends from school." She sighed, "He wanted children as soon as possible." She put in, "He told me he wanted a big family."
"But you only have the one child?" Hound Dog asked, uncertain.
Inko looked down at her lap sadly, "Yes...I had several miscarriages before my little Izuku came along," she smiled at the thought of her son, "And he was born two months early."
"And how did your husband treat these times when you miscarried?" He asked, beginning to draw a conclusion in his head.
Inko thought for a moment, "He was always devastatedwhenever we lost a child," she said, which she thought to be natural as she had taken it as hard as he had, "But he always said that we would try again."
"And I take it that he didn't wait very long?" Hound Dog pressed, and saw the woman start to look uncomfortable, giving him the only answer he needed, "Erm, let's talk about his time raising your son, shall we?"
Inko smiled and readily told him, "When Izuku was born, Hisashi was over the moon, not only because our first child was a boy, but he kept saying that our boy was going to be a great Hero someday." Inko's smile began to droop a little, "And Izuku loved Heroes. He particularly loved watching the video of All Might's big debut."
"And Hisashi encouraged him at every point," Inko went on, "But...when Izuku started to get to the age when his Quirk was supposed to activate..." she shook her head, "I watched that boy try so hard to use either his father's Quirk or mine, but there was nothing he could do to activate it." Hound Dog he had a feeling he knew what was coming, "During that time, we...we tried having another child, but I had another miscarriage and the doctor told me that having anymore children would be nearly impossible...Hisashi seemed to lose interest in us after that."
"In you, or your son?" Hound Dog asked.
"Both." She relented.
Hound Dog set his pen down, "I think I have enough information," the man said, "But the question is, do you?"
Inko nodded as she mulled over all that she had spoken about, "Hisashi...basically wanted me for my Quirk...didn't he?"
"That would be my guess," Hound Dog said, "When he found out that his only son was Quirkless, and that his legal wife was incapable of bearing anymore children, he most likely requested the overseas job himself."
"And found another woman," Inko said, "He just wasn't willing to go through all the trouble of divorcing me." She said, "And I believed him when he said that he would come back whenever he could...but it's been eleven years."
"And you've been afraid of admitting to yourself that your husband was never coming back," Hound Dog said, "Here's what I want you to do, Ms. Midoriya: call your husband up and ask if he would like a divorce."
Inko looked alarmed, "You think I should?"
Hound Dog nodded, "In no sense of the word marriage is it healthy for a couple to be separated for so long without even a single word to each other." He explained, "And I'm willing to bet that he'll either see the sense in it," he said, "Or, if he's the man that I think he is, then he will get angry. If he does that, then you'll need to assert yourself a little more."
"But I - "
"You've readily admitted that he likely has another woman, or women, in his life," Hound Dog said, before reaching into his suit's pocket and withdrawing a business card, "That is the name of a very good lawyer, and he works very cheaply. Bring his name up with your husband if he gives you trouble."
Inko took with a little hesitation, "Is this going to help me with my..."
Hound Dog nodded, "It will be the first step in the right direction," he promised, "It may not feel like it, but it will be." He said, "And though it may seem cruel of me to ask, but you should try being alone for short periods of time. But let someone help you. That friend, Mitsuki, I think, would help you greatly."
Inko smiled as she placed the card in her purse, "Would it be alright to ask her for support while I'm doing this?" She asked, referring to the divorce lawyer.
Hound Dog huffed out a laugh, "Mrs. Midoriya, I can honestly say that, if she's anything like what you've told me, then you'd have to beat her off with a stick to stop her from being there for you."
Before she could say anymore, Inko's phone rang. "Oh, dear, I'm so sorry, I thought I'd shut it off before coming in," she said as she fished the phone out of her purse. "Toshi...?" She blushed slightly as the man across from her chuckled, knowing the man personally, "H-Hello?"
"Inko? Where are you?!" It was Toshinori, and he sounded frantic, "I tried going by your apartment, but there was no one there!"
Inko was surprised by his urgency, "I'm at U.A. right now," she told the man, "What's the matter, I thought Izuku was - "
"That's the problem," Toshinori said, sounded exhausted, "Izuku's been arrested...for a joyriding."
"He...Did...WHAT!?"
僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア
Toshinori drove by the school in order to pick Inko up and drive them both to the Mustafar Police Department where her child was being held. According to Toshinori, whom Izuku had called in confidence, which was teenager speak for Please don't tell my mom!, he and another student had been down at the beach while Izuku was trying out a new transformation, and attempting to build his support items when both of them had stumbled upon an abandon junk heap of a car.
In their excitement at its repair, the two of them had driven off.
No damage was done, thank heavens, but that didn't mean that they hadn't gotten stopped.
"Technically, the car can be counted as a piece of Support Gear considering that Young Midoriya rebuilt it himself, and it has defensive and offensive features," Toshinori explained as they pulled up to the station, "But the girl forgot that they would need a few things before driving it."
"Like a license?" Inko grumbled.
"Actually, no," Toshinori said with a dry chuckle, "If it's a drivable support item, you get a license as soon as you get it certified." He remembered the extravagant car that his long-time friend and former partner, David Shield, had used. "No, the problem lies in the fact that the car, while being rebuilt after it was abandoned, needed a salvage title, and they also needed to apply for the proper paperwork for a large, potentially dangerous Support Item."
Inko groaned as Toshinori put his little truck in park, and got out so that he could open the door for her. She thought he was kidding, but apparently the only way the passenger's side door would open was from the outside. Which meant he had to open it for her. [That's an excuse if ever I heard one.] She thought fondly of the man's antics.
But the moment he opened the door, and her heels hit the pavement, she put on her best Mom Face, and stalked up to the station...
Five minutes later...
All of Inko's anger had gone flying out of the window. Why?
Because her son had made a new friend. A new, femalefriend. And to add to the fact that not only was the boy able to pay the necessary fee for a salvage title himself, and fill out the necessary paperwork, but he was also set on giving the car to his mother.
That little fact, however, had sparked quite the heated argument between himself and the very attractive rosette he was with, "But you could add on so much more to the car that would make it the perfect pursuit vehicle!" Mei had complained when the boy offered Inko the car, "You're just trying to get outta the dog house with your mom!"
What made the argument all the more amusing was the fact that Izuku, her timid little angel, was actually arguing right back just as heatedly, "You can't blame me for that!" Izuku shouted right back, "I seriously thought we were gonna go to jail when we got pulled over!" The boy was clearly frazzled beyond the norm since they were practically nose to nose with each other and it didn't seem to fluster him, "And you even talked about pulling a Bo Duke on the guy!"
"I was just kidding!" Mei whined, "I'm gonna be the top Support Item producer in Japan, if not the world! You really think I want jail time on my resume!?"
Inko and Toshinori watched the exchange in slight amusement, "It's kind'a hard to stay mad, now, isn't it?" Toshinori asked.
Inko giggled, "Not for me it." Inko said with a very misleading smile on her face, "But I suppose I can let him off just a little easy, this time."
Toshinori chuckled, "You like the car, don't you?"
"..." Inko gained a small blush to her cheeks, "We can talk about it over that bite to eat you mentioned."